COMO Adventure Grove at Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Gallop Extension is a wonderful nature playgarden for children. This family-friendly section of Singapore Botanic Gardens is filled with play elements which draw inspiration from the greenery of natural habitats. The Singapore Botanic Gardens playground provides plenty of fun opportunities for kids to explore and reconnect with nature through play.
The COMO Adventure Grove playground at the Gallop Extension is surrounded by with lush greens. It is all part of its biophilic design which draws on nature and aims to give back to it.
COMO Adventure Grove Playground: The Weeping Fig Tower
The centerpiece of the new Singapore Botanic Gardens playground is a Weeping Fig Tower.
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Tree climbing is emblematic of carefree, childhood days. While opportunities for such activities may seem fewer in Singapore, many kids will now be able to make new memories climbing about the COMO Adventure Grove’s tree-inspired play structure.
The 5.8-metre tall Weeping Fig spreads its “branches” far and wide in the middle of a big sandpit. The tree’s trunk and branches are made of steel but they have been hand-textured to look like the bark of a tree.
There are plenty of “aerial roots” in the form of climbing ropes and props hanging off the branches of the Weeping Fig. Kids will have plenty of fun at the Singapore Botanic Gardens playground’s swings, nets and hammocks. These are interspersed amongst natural plants, bushes and shrubbery at the base of the play structure.
Kids can also climb to the top of the Weeping Fig tower to take in the views of the flora at the surrounding Gallop Extension.
There are two long tube slides – one 4 metres long and another that is 2.1 metres long. They provide plenty of speedy fun for kids.
Saga Seeds and a Giant Cempedak
One of the tube slides leads down to an interesting play feature of the COMO Adventure Grove, a nature-inspired play area.
One of the most striking features at the COMO Adventure Grove playground is the bright red saga seeds “scattered” around the sandy ground. While we may have played with the regular-sized versions of the saga seeds, these are simply enormous.
Alongside them are green “saga seed pods” which kids can climb on.
There is even a tool board which encourages sand play.
The other tube slide leads to a giant cempedak fruit. It is about 100 times the usual size of the fruit. Kids can climb about its thorny surface to practice their coordination while they hold on to its bumpy skin.
COMO Adventure Grove is a wonderful place for kids and families to reconnect with nature and a welcomed companion to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden. It provides a chance for kids to get outdoor and be introduced to nature early through play.
There is even a cafe-restaurant, Bee’s Knees Petite, at the top of the hill above COMO Adventure Grove, where you can grab a bite.
How to Get to COMO Adventure Grove
The Singapore Botanic Gardens COMO Adventure Grove playground is located at the Gallop Extension. It can be found on the opposite side of Tyersall Avenue from the National Orchid Garden and the Learning Forest.
To reach the COMO Adventure Grove, from the entrance of Gallop Extension, follow the signboards, take the path that leads inwards past the OCBC Arboretum and you will reach it. It can also be found to the rear of the Botanical Art Gallery and the Forest Discovery Centre.
To soak in even more of nature, be sure to explore and enjoy the paths around the COMO Adventure Grove nature playgarden. You can view an old hornbill’s nest nearby. Pay a visit to the Gallop Valley or take a walk along the Mingxin Foundation’s Rambler’s Ridge. Pay a visit to the Forest Discovery Centre and Botanical Art Gallery too.
